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  • 5 Surprising Reasons to Raise Your HOA Assessments

    If your main concern is to avoid increasing assessments, you may want to reconsider. As a board member, one of your primary fiduciary responsibilities is to protect property values, and assessments are an investment that helps do just that.
  • Reserve Funds, Assessment, or Loan: 3 Ways to Pay for a Capital Improvement Fee

    Great capital improvements lead to better property values. Read on to see the three ways to pay for them and the pros and cons for each.
  • The Facts about Synthetic Turf

    Considering synthetic turf for your community common areas? Understanding the facts on what it's made of, benefits and disadvantages, and how it will affect children or pets will make all the difference when determining if synthetic turf is the right choice for your community!
  • Smart Financial Planning

    Safeguarding a strata corporation’s operating and reserve funds is one of the main fiduciary duties of all board members, not just the treasurer. This means strata councils must protect the financial interests of the strata corporation and its members.
  • Reserve Funds, Assessment or Loan: 3 Ways to Pay for Capital Improvements

    Strategic capital improvements lead to better property values. Read on to see the three ways to pay for them and their pros and cons.
  • Contractor Tips: How to get the best from your contractor

    When you hire a contractor, it could either be the best decision you ever made, or the worst. The stakes are high; a good contractor will execute your vision on time and on budget, whereas a not-so-good one will be the source of bad workmanship, unexpected delays, inconvenience and a whole lot of headaches.
  • HOA bidding procedures: Simplification tips

    Picture this: your homeowners association has a big job that needs to be done, so you’ve got to find a qualified contractor to do it. How do you manage your vendor selection process to make sure you find the best one to fill your needs?
  • Five tips for fire safety in a building or high rise in your community

    Living in a high-rise, condominium or co-op certainly has its perks. You get the convenient location, the dramatic views, attentive concierge services and a range of amenities. However, vertical living also means added challenges when it comes to fire safety. Fortunately, there are measures that both your association board and residents can take to improve safety.
  • FirstService Residential Keeps Energy Costs on a Tight Leash During Dog Days of Summer

    High summer temperatures bring high electric bills – especially this summer, as heat waves and soaring temperatures continue to blaze across the U.S. and Canada. But FirstService Residential’s innovative FS Energy program is keeping residents cool, curbing electric bills and lowering energy emissions and usage – and it saved $1.5 million in energy costs for NYC residents last summer. Now, the program is rolling out to multifamily buildings in Chicago and Miami.
  • Five reasons to use quality HOA vendors

    When you have a large-scale project slated for your community, it’s tempting to select a vendor based on price. After all, what’s more important than saving your association money?
  • What is vendor management? Communication, tips, and processes

    Vendor management is a large part of serving on the board of a managed community. Every community has outside partners for services like landscaping, sanitation, cable and Internet provision, pool maintenance, valet services and more. Open and effective communication among the board, the management company and the vendors employed by the association is an important part of making the most of any community’s operating budget and improving the lifestyles of its residents.
  • What to consider when hiring property management vendors

    Your Board of Directors oversees the many day-to-day tasks required to operate and maintain your community…but they can’t do it alone. Your property management team will be expected to hire a wide array of vendors, including painters, plumbers, electricians, landscapers, repairmen for equipment maintenance or emergencies, exterminators, and more.
  • Four ways to fund an HOA capital improvement project

    Living in a residential community means around-the-clock routine maintenance to preserve the community and its assets. But there comes a time when one of your assets will reach the end of its useful life and require a replacement or significant repairs.
  • How to prepare for flooding in your high rise building

    Floods are one of the most common types of natural disasters. They can also be the most detrimental for high-rise buildings. The nature of these buildings makes them particularly vulnerable to flooding caused by severe storms.
  • Six summer energy conservation tips

    Summer’s longer days mean more time to enjoy warm weather and sunshine, but they also mean higher energy bills. There is a bright side, however: by implementing an energy management program within your community, you can help keep costs down without sacrificing comfort.
  • Capital improvements vs repairs and maintenance: What’s the difference?

    Maintaining your buildings’ assets is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. The common areas require a broad range of routine maintenance and repairs to keep them looking good and operating smoothly.
  • Hiring a reserve study company: Five things to know

    In our guide to capital improvements , reserve studies and their relationship to capital improvements and preventive maintenance were discussed at length.
  • Handling vendor contract disputes and conflicts: A step-by-step guide

    You’ve been there before. You meet with a vendor, they seem like a great choice, and then after a month or so, you find yourself in a dispute.
  • HOA Vendors: Vendor management tips for great results

    Here are some tips to manage your HOA vendors more effectively & and get the results you're looking for.
  • Why association boards chose FirstService Residential

    Finding a property management company to partner with your board isn’t easy. Find out how we can help you.
  • 3 Cost Containment Strategies to Minimize Assessment Hikes

    Your fiduciary responsibility is the most important commitment to fellow homeowners. Learn cost containment strategies that can save your association money.
  • Five Ways to Get Ready for a Pool Inspection

    A pool inspection can be a major source of anxiety for board members and residents. Don't throw in the towel; there are steps you can take to make sure your inspection goes...well, swimmingly.
  • Vendor Communication Best Practices: The Do’s and Don’ts

    Open and effective communication among the board, management company and vendors is an important part of any community's operating budget and for improving residents' lifestyles.
  • 3 Ways to Pay for an Association Capital Improvement Project

    When your association has to invest in its property, whether for repairs or a new construction project, the financing for that work must be considered as carefully as the work itself
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